Screw press having screen vibration

ABSTRACT

A dewatering screw press has a hopper, a discharge outlet, a cylindrical screen flexibly mounted to the hopper and rigidly connected to the discharge outlet, a screw mounted to rotate beginning in the hopper and ending at the discharge outlet, the screw having an outer surface contacting the cylindrical screen, and at least one vibrator mounted to the cylindrical screen. Dewatering efficiency is improved by vibrations that are strong near the middle of the screen, while reducing or eliminating vibration near the discharge end of the screen where pressure is highest and a breaking of the seal between the screw and the screen due to vibration can reduce dewatering of sludge near the discharge end of the screen.

The present patent application is a continuation-in-part application ofU.S. patent application Ser. No. 16/224,426 filed on Dec. 18, 2018 thatis incorporated by reference herein. The present patent application alsoclaims priority of U.S. patent application No. 62/841,554 filed on May1, 2019 that is incorporated by reference herein.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present patent application relates to a screw press used indewatering of sludge, for example manure. The present patent applicationalso relates to the operation of a dairy farm in which dairy cow beddingthat is soiled with manure is dried, sterilized and recycled for re-useas cow bedding.

BACKGROUND

Screw presses for dewatering manure and other sludge materials are wellknown in the art. An example of a dewatering press used in the dairyindustry is the press screw separator PSS 3.3-780 GB sold by FANSeparator GmbH of Marktschorgast, Germany and described in German patentDE 42 32 449 B4 granted to FAN Separator GmbH on Jun. 23, 2005. Thebeneficial impact of dewatering and reusing manure for cow bedding isalso well known in the art, see for example the article by Jean Bonhotalet al. of the Cornell Waste Management Institute of Cornell University'sCollege of Agriculture and Life Sciences, Ithaca, N.Y., titled “DairyManure Solids Cut Bedding Costs” published in Northeast Dairy Business,10(4):24-25, 2008, as well as the article titled “Health Impacts andEconomics of Using Dried Manure Solids in the Northeast” by M. C.Schwarz et al. presented at the Ninth Annual Fall Dairy Conference,Liverpool, N.Y. on Nov. 12-13, 2008.

A screw press for dewatering drilling mud in the petroleum industry isdisclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,996,484 in which the screen is vibrated inthe embodiment of FIG. 12 using a vibrator 140 with a view to increasedewatering efficiency.

SUMMARY

Applicant has investigated ways to improve dewatering efficiency of ascrew press. Applicant has found that vibration of the sludge being fedinto the screw press is difficult and relatively ineffective. Applicanthas found that vibration of the cylindrical screen of the screw pressfails when strong vibrations act near the high-pressure end of thedewatering screen. Applicant hypothesizes that vibration of the screenat the high-pressure discharge end of the screw press allows for waterand sludge to slip back between the auger blade and the screen of thescrew press. Applicant has found that vibration applied to the screen inmanner that provides for vibration action near the low pressure end ofthe auger while providing for reduced vibration action near the highpressure end of the auger significantly improves dewatering of the screwpress over a screw press in which the vibration is not applied or over ascrew press in which vibration is applied over the whole of the screen.

Applicant has found that clogging of the screw press can be reduced ifthe hopper is filled to a level lower than a full height of the screw orauger. Applicant has found that the loss in dewatering performance dueto the resulting lower pressure in the screen near the hopper iscompensated by the addition of vibration to the screen.

Applicant has also found that the cleanliness of the sludge material,for example farm animal bedding material, can be improved by addingwater to the sludge prior to dewatering.

Applicant has also found that the performance and lifespan of a screwpress can be improved by providing a replaceable, flexible edge to thescrew or auger.

According to some embodiments, there is provided a dewatering screwpress comprising a hopper, a discharge outlet, a cylindrical screenflexibly mounted to the hopper and rigidly connected to the dischargeoutlet, a screw mounted to rotate beginning in the hopper and ending atthe discharge outlet, the screw having an outer surface contacting thecylindrical screen, and at least one vibrator mounted to the cylindricalscreen. In some embodiments, at least a portion near the dischargeoutlet of the outer surface of the screw has a plastic or rubber edgefor making a seal against the cylindrical screen. In some embodiments,the plastic or rubber edge is clamped to the screw so to be replaceable.In some embodiments, the hopper has an inlet and an outlet at a heightfor filling the hopper to a level lower that a top of the screw. In someembodiments, the vibrator is mounted at a distance from the hopperfurther than about one quarter of the distance between the hopper to thedischarge outlet. In some embodiments, the cylindrical screen comprisesa plurality of reinforcing rings. In some embodiments, the cylindricalscreen comprises an elastomeric member connected to the hopper.Dewatering efficiency is improved by vibrations that are strong near themiddle of the screen, while reducing or eliminating vibration near thedischarge end of the screen where pressure is highest and a breaking ofthe seal between the screw and the screen due to vibration can reducedewatering of sludge near the discharge end of the screen.

In some embodiments, the discharge outlet comprises a discharge tube anda displaceable discharge cover. In some embodiments, the displaceabledischarge cover comprises a conical member. In some embodiments, an airbladder is provided for applying force to the displaceable dischargecover. In another embodiment, multiple air bladders provide force to thedischarge cover. In some embodiments, an electric motor and a speedreduction gearbox having an output is connected to the screw.

There is also provided a method of producing milk in a dairy farmcomprising collecting soiled bedding from the dairy cow stalls, placingsoiled bedding in the hopper of the screw press, vibrating the screwpress screen near the inlet with the vibration being reduced near theoutlet to dewater soiled bedding, collecting the discharge from thescrew press, optionally heat treating the discharge from the screwpress, returning the dried bedding to the cow stalls to provide comfortfor the cows, and milking the dairy cows. The quality of the dewateringbenefits from using embodiments of the vibrating screen screw pressdescribed herein.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The invention will be better understood by way of the following detaileddescription of embodiments of the invention with reference to theappended drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 is a side illustration of a sludge dewatering press with itsprotective cover removed to show the screen, vibrator and dischargecontrol mechanism;

FIG. 2 is wire-frame side view of the screw press of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3A is a schematic illustration of an upper part of the screen,inlet flange, outlet flange with a vibrator in which the elastomericjoint between the screen and the inlet flange is a cylindrical joint inwhich vibrations cause compression in the joint;

FIG. 3B is a schematic illustration of an upper part of the screen,inlet flange, outlet flange with a vibrator in which the elastomericjoint between the screen and the inlet flange is an annular ring jointin which vibrations cause a shearing action in the joint;

FIG. 3C is a schematic illustration of an upper part of the screenassembly which separated in two distinct part, inlet flange, outletflange with a vibrator in which the two distinct parts of the screen areassembled through an annular elastomeric joint in which vibrations causea shearing action in the joint;

FIG. 4A illustrates a view of the screw press from the discharge endshowing the inlet, the outlet and the priming port of the hopper;

FIG. 4B illustrates an embodiment of the hopper supply system,comprising an inlet connected through conduits to a pump and a storagecontainer, an outlet allowing overflow to return to the storagecontainer through a conduit and a priming port of the hopper;

FIG. 4C illustrates an embodiment of the dewatering screw dischargesystem, comprising a displaceable discharge cover mounted on a verticalconfiguration, the displacement being controlled by multiple airbladders;

FIG. 5 is a detail of the screw or auger showing how a wear-resistant,flexible member is attached to the blade of the screw using a helicalclamping plate; and

FIG. 6 is a flow diagram of steps involved in an embodiment of dairyoperation using the screw press of the embodiment of FIGS. 1 and 2.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

FIGS. 1 and 2 show a screw press 10 having a double helix auger blade 18inside of a screen 22. The screen 22 can be made of wedge wire so as toreduce clogging of the screen 22. The screen 22 can also be made of 304stainless steel, for example by water jet cutting a sheet of steel thatis then hard chrome coated. The auger blade 18 can have a rubber orplastic edge 20, such as a flexible urethane wiper material, that allowsthe blade 18 to seal better against the screen 22.

A detail of the blade 18 is shown in FIG. 5. The edge 20 can be cut outfrom sheet material as rings and clamped to the blade using clampmembers 19 that can be fastened to the blade 18 using bolts, for exampleusing stainless steel bolts that can be fastened through the holesillustrated in the detailed view of FIG. 5. It will be appreciated thatthe edge material can be attached to the blade 18 in a variety of ways.The edge 20 can extend for example by ⅛ inch beyond the edge of theblade 18. In this way the edge 20 makes frictional and sealing contactwith the screen 22. Urethane is a good example of a suitable materialbecause it is flexible and durable. The edge 20 can be replaced as itwears out without having to replace the blade 18.

Returning to FIGS. 1 and 2, a motor 12 can be connected to a gearreduction box 14 to drive the shaft of the blade 18 to compress sludgefed into the hopper 16. The hopper compartment receives one end of theblade 18 where the sludge is received. Applicant has found thatvibration of the screen increases dewatering performance sufficientlythat pressure in the inlet portion of the screen can be zero while stillallowing good flow of liquid across screen 22. Unlike known screw pressapparatus, the hopper 16 can be filled to a level that is below the topof the screw 18, for example one or two inches below the top. This wouldmake the pressure at the inlet too low in conventional presses, however,with screen vibration, this is suitable. By having a low pressure in thehopper and into the screen, clogging of the press is greatly reduced.When the sludge has poor flowability or in order to improve the washingof the sludge, fresh water can be introduced to the hopper, for exampleusing a fill port 17.

As described above, obtaining a low pressure at the inlet of the screen22 have been observed to increase the dewatering efficiency of the screwpress 10 while also improving its operation. The hopper fillingthreshold to achieve the desired low level of pressure is defined asfilling the hopper to a level lower than about 6 inches above the top ofthe screw 18. The preferred embodiment would consist of filling thehopper to a level lower than the top of the screw, by about 2 to 5inches. The typical diameter of screw 18 is about 10 to about 30 inches.It will be appreciated that other methods to obtain a low pressure atthe inlet of the screen 22 may be used, be it by controlling the intakeflow to the hopper, positioning the hopper's outlet port 16 c to a levelallowing discharge of excess sludge to prevent a level higher than thethreshold or using any other equivalent method.

In FIGS. 4A and 4B, there is shown how the sludge can be provided to thehopper through an inlet 16 b from below. Alternatively, the supply couldbe from the side or the top. FIG. 4A presents an embodiment of thehopper, comprising at least an inlet port 16 b and an outlet port 16 c.It will be appreciated that the hopper may include other ports, such asa priming port 16 a, as well as other features or sensors to control ormonitor the flow, the temperature, the pressure or any other parametersfrom the hopper for the operation of the dewatering screw press. FIG. 4Billustrates another embodiment, which includes a pump system 16 d thatis connected to the hopper and a storage container 16 e or a pit. Thesludge can thus be pumped into the inlet 16 b at a controlled rate toensure adequate pressure at the inlet of the screw press 22. In thisembodiment, should the flow of sludge pumped exceed the capacity of thepress 10 it may flow through the outlet 16 c back down to the storagecontainer 16 e or pit. It will be appreciated that other arrangementscan be used to ensure that the level of sludge in the hopper is lowenough to ensure that the starting pressure in the screen 22 is low.Applicant prefers using gravity and the outlet 16 c to control the levelin the hopper 16. Note that the outlet port 16 c can be larger than theinlet port 16 b to reduce pressure in the overflow outlet conduit. Thehopper can include a priming port 16 a for manually filling the hopperduring a starting of the press 10 to ensure that press operates with theright quantity of sludge.

Returning to FIGS. 1 and 2, the screen 22 can be connected to the hopper16 through a flange 24 and a gasket or elastomeric member 26. The member26 allows for a small amplitude of vibratory motion to take placebetween the screen 22 and the blade 18, and more specifically betweenthe edge 20 of the blade 18 and the screen 22. The screen 22 can bereinforced by rings 28 along its length as required to support thepressure. Pressure of the sludge material increases from the hopper endto the discharge end where a displaceable discharge cover 38 fits into acompression tube 36 is mounted to an end plate 49 to control the rate ofdischarge and thus maintain suitable pressure within the cylindricalscreen 22. In some embodiments, the displaceable discharge cover 38 maybe a compression cone. The displaceable discharge cover 38 can bemounted on a linear bearing 42 that slides on a shaft 44 connectedbetween the discharge end plate 34 and a back plate 46. In someembodiments, the displaceable discharge cover 38 is mounted to multipleshafts that connect the discharge end plate to a back plate, thedisplaceable discharge cover 38 may further be mounted through a linearbearing 42 to reduce the friction caused by the movement of the cover.In the embodiment shown in FIG. 1, the shaft 44 is mounted on thehorizontal plane of the discharge outlet.

FIG. 4C illustrates another embodiment wherein the shaft 44 may bemounted on the upper section of the discharge outlet as to preventimpediment to the outflow of the sludge. In yet another embodiment,wherein the displaceable discharge cover is connected through multipleshafts, the shafts may be similarly mounted in the vertical plane of thedischarge outlet, to ensure that at least one of the shaft does notimpede with the outflow of sludge. The shaft of the screw blade 18 canbe rotatably seated in a bearing 48.

While a compression cone arrangement is used in the present embodiment,other types of discharge controls can be used as is known in the art. Inanother embodiment, the discharge control is done by a weighted hingedgate that may only discharge sludge once the internal pressure at theend of the screw press applies enough force to displace the gate. In yetanother embodiment, the pressure at the discharge end is monitored bypressure sensors and a system further controls the opening and closingof an electromechanical valve when a certain threshold is reached. Itwill be understood by someone skilled in the art that any type ofdischarge outlet controls can be used, the importance of the dischargeoutlet being to provide control of the output of dried sludge whileensuring the buildup of the sludge's internal pressure throughout thelength of the screw press. It will be appreciated that any type of valvethat can be controlled mechanically or electromechanically may be usedto control the discharge.

The desired pressure on the discharge control can be supplied by anysuitable means, however, Applicant has found that air bladders 40 asused in the variable suspensions of transport trailers and dump truckswork efficiently.

The air bladders 40 can be provided with pressurized air using a controlvalve that responds to a torque sensor (not shown) or the current drawnby the motor 12. In this way, when the torque increases to be too high,the discharge can be increased.

In some embodiments, there may be only one air bladder that provides thenecessary pressure to the displaceable discharge cover. In otherembodiments, there may be multiple air bladders that are simultaneouslycontrolled to provide the pressure to the displaceable discharge cover.

It will be appreciated that the air bladder, or multiple air bladders,arrangement that provides the necessary pressure to the displaceabledischarge cover is useful to control the flow of the sludge and, initself, is an improvement over the prior art. This arrangement allowscontrol of the outflow of the sludge by gradually increasing the openingfrom which the sludge is discharged. This is beneficial, compared to theconfiguration present in the prior art, as it ensures continuouslykeeping sufficient internal pressure at the end of the screen 22 tomaximise the dewatering efficiency of the screw press.

Liquid from the sludge is expelled through the screen 22 as a result ofthe pressure applied by the screw or auger blade 18. While this processis called dewatering, the liquid expelled is typically contaminated andis not only water.

When the screw press of FIGS. 1 and 2 is operated without vibration,liquid is extracted mostly near the discharge end of the screen 22 rightbefore reaching the discharge tube 36. Dewatered sludge is expelledthrough the tube 36 and cone 38 and can then fall downward through ahole in the base frame for recovery.

A vibrator 32 can be an electric motor vibrator and can be mounted totwo extended annular reinforcement rings 30 among the reinforcementrings 28. As will be appreciated, the vibrator can be powered bycompressed air or other sources. More than one vibrator 32 can be usedif desired. The amplitude and frequency of the vibration can be chosento best increase the flow of liquid through the screen 22. While morethan one vibrator 32 can be provided, vibration sources can act againsteach other if not correctly positioned or if they are out of phase, socare must be taken when using more than one vibration source 32.

The reinforcement rings 28 can be made of stainless steel and they canbe welded to the screen 22. The extended rings 30 can also be welded tothe screen 22 to improve the transfer of the vibration motion. When thisvibration is added, seepage of liquid from the screen 22 will increaseat the inlet end of the screen 22. Because the screen 22 can be mountedto the hopper 16 using an elastomeric gasket 26 placed between a flangeof the screen and flange 24 of the hopper 16, the vibration caused bythe vibrator 32 is greatest at the inlet where the gasket is and cangradually reduce to zero where the screen 22 can be rigidly connected tothe discharge outlet, namely to the compression tube 36. It will beappreciated that the screen 22 can be connected to the discharge plate34. Tube 36 can be of a length desired at the end of the screen 22.

As shown, the vibrator 32 is not placed too close to the hopper 16 sincethere is almost no pressure on the sludge at the inlet end of the screenand the addition of the vibration is not useful to increase the flow ofliquid. The vibrator 32 can be located where pressure is higher, and theaddition of vibration can improve liquid flow across the screen 22.Where along the cylindrical screen 22 pressure is increased depends onthe design of the press 10.

In this configuration, the flow of liquid across screen 22 can be abouttwice to four times the rate near the inlet end of the screen 22 thanfor the case when the vibration is not applied. When no vibration isapplied, most of the liquid is expelled near the discharge end of thescreen, and when vibration is applied in the embodiment of FIGS. 1 and 2liquid can be expelled almost evenly along the screen 22, except for aregion very close to the hopper 16 where the pressure is too low.

If the screen is not rigidly connected to the discharge end, but insteadis connected using an elastomeric gasket, Applicant has found that whilethere is an increase in liquid being expelled at the inlet end of thescreen, the vibration reduces the flow of liquid across the screen atthe discharge end. This reduction in the flow at the discharge end ofthe screen as a result of a gasket mounting has been observed to beroughly a reduction by about half to one quarter of the flow incomparison to no vibration. Applicant believes that the vibrationinterferes with the seal between the auger or screw 18 and the screen 22and causes pressure loss that leads to the reduction in liquid beingexpelled.

In the embodiment of FIG. 3A, the screen 22 is connected through anelastomeric joint 26 to a cylindrical flange 24 of the hopper 16. Thejoint 26 can be, for example, a rubber ring, or it can comprise one ormore O-rings. In the embodiment of FIG. 3B, the joint 26 is an annularelastomeric member placed between a flange 24 at the end of the screen22 and the hopper 16. Because the pressure at the inlet end of thescreen 22 is low, it will be appreciated that the need to have apressure resistant seal is low. Therefore, a variety of different waysof connecting the screen 2 to the hopper 16 while allowing for thescreen 22 to vibrate can be used other than a full elastomeric seal.

FIG. 3C illustrates another embodiment, wherein the cylindrical screen22 is separated in two distinct sections, an inlet portion and an outletportion. The inlet portion of the screen 22 is rigidly connected betweena cylindrical flange 24 and the hopper 16 on one side and flexiblyconnected to the outlet portion of the screen through a flexible joint.In some embodiments, this flexible joint may be an annular elastomericmember 26 as shown in FIG. 3C. In other embodiments, the flexible jointmay be any type of flexible joint known to a person skilled in the art.It will be appreciated that in some embodiments the inlet portion of thescreen represents the larger portion of the screen assembly, asrepresented in FIG. 3C.

The vibrator 32 is fixed to the inlet portion of the screen 22, in amanner to maximize water drainage from the sludge. Water drainage fromthe system increases depending on the vibration mode of the vibrator 32and pressure of the sludge inside the dewatering screw assembly.Considering a low pressure input of sludge from the hopper 16 and theinternal pressure of the sludge gradually increasing up to the highpressure outlet 34, the system as shown in FIG. 3C is an effectiveembodiment to increase the dewatering efficiency of a dewatering screwpress system.

As the vibrations at the high pressure outlet 34 are of limited use forthe dewatering process, the outlet portion of the screen is rigidlymounted to either the frame of the screw press or to the dischargeoutlet 34. It will be appreciated that the rigid mounting of the outletportion may be done through any physical means that result in the outletportion of the screen being a rigid structure. In the embodimentrepresented in FIG. 3C, the reinforcement rings 28 used to further fixthe screen to a rigid body.

While not illustrated, press 10 can be provided with a suitable cover. Asuitable liquid recovery trough or collector can be provided in theframe of the press 10.

As illustrated in FIG. 6, the press 10 having an improved dewateringcapability due to the vibration source is useful in a dairy farm. Soiledbedding is collected from the dairy cow stalls. Once a stall is cleaned,it can be replaced with clean bedding material, although in FIG. 4 thisis a later step. The soiled bedding is mostly cow manure and is fed intothe hopper 16 of the press 10. The operator may observe the dewateringprocess to ensure that the manure is flowing properly into and out ofthe press 10. The dewatered manure is discharged from the press 10.Optionally, the dewatered manure can be heat treated. Heat treatment canbe used to kill some or all of the pathogens contained in the dewateredsludge. It can also increase the dryness of the sludge. The processedsludge is then recycled as bedding material. The operation of the dairyfarm continues including the milking of the cows.

As known in the art, the use of dairy manure solids (DMS) as beddingmaterial is cost effective because it reduces the cost of new beddingmaterial and it reduces the cost of disposing of used bedding materialdue to the possibility of on-site processing using press 10.

It will also be appreciated that the reduction in moisture content inthe dewatered sludge using a screw press as a result of using screenvibration as described herein then leads to a reduction in energy costsand time to use heat treating of the sludge to produce safe andcomfortable DMS.

What is claimed is:
 1. A dewatering screw press comprising: a hopper; adischarge outlet; a cylindrical screen comprising one of: an inlet endflexibly connected to the hopper and an outlet end rigidly connected tothe discharge outlet; and an inlet portion and an outlet portion,wherein the inlet portion is rigidly connected to the hopper andflexibly connected to the outlet portion, and the outlet portion isrigidly mounted and connected to the discharge outlet; a screw mountedto rotate beginning in the hopper and ending at the discharge outlet,the screw having an outer surface contacting the cylindrical screen; andat least one vibrator mounted to the cylindrical screen to causevibration therein.
 2. The dewatering screw press as defined in claim 1,wherein at least a portion near the discharge outlet of the outersurface of the screw has a plastic or rubber edge for making a sealagainst the cylindrical screen.
 3. The dewatering screw press as definedin claim 2, wherein said plastic or rubber edge is clamped to said screwto be replaceable.
 4. The dewatering screw press as defined in claim 1,wherein the hopper has an inlet and an outlet at a height for fillingthe hopper to a level lower than a top of the screw.
 5. The dewateringscrew press as defined in claim 1, wherein the hopper has an inlet toreceive sludge and an outlet to overflow excess sludge, furthercomprising a pump connected by conduits to a storage container and tothe inlet of the hopper, and the outlet of the hopper connected by aconduit to the storage container.
 6. The dewatering screw press asdefined in claim 1, wherein the at least one vibrator is mounted at adistance from the hopper further than about one quarter of the distancebetween the hopper to the discharge outlet.
 7. The dewatering screwpress as defined in claim 1, wherein the cylindrical screen comprises aplurality of reinforcing rings.
 8. The dewatering screw press as definedin claim 1, wherein the flexible connection of the cylindrical screencomprises an elastomeric member.
 9. The dewatering screw press asdefined in claim 1, wherein the discharge outlet comprises a dischargetube and a displaceable discharge cover.
 10. The dewatering screw pressas defined in claim 9, wherein the displaceable discharge covercomprises a conical member.
 11. The dewatering screw press as defined inclaim 9, further comprising at least one air bladder for applying forceto the displaceable discharge cover.
 12. The dewatering screw press asdefined in claim 9, wherein the displaceable discharge cover is mountedon a linear bearing that slides on a shaft connected between a dischargeend plate and a back plate.
 13. The dewatering screw press as defined inclaim 12, wherein the shaft connected between the discharge end plateand the back plate is positioned on the upper side of the displaceabledischarge cover.
 14. The dewatering screw press as defined in claim 12,wherein the discharge end plate and the back plate are connected by morethan one shaft, the more than one shaft being positioned on the upperand lower side of the displaceable discharge cover.
 15. The dewateringscrew press as defined in claim 1, further comprising an electric motorand a speed reduction gearbox having an output connected to the screw.16. The dewatering screw press as defined in claim 1, wherein thecylindrical screen comprises an inlet end flexibly connected and anoutlet end rigidly connected to the discharge outlet.
 17. The dewateringscrew press as defined in claim 1, wherein the cylindrical screencomprises an inlet portion and an outlet portion, wherein the inletportion is rigidly connected to the hopper and flexibly connected to theoutlet portion, and the outlet portion is rigidly mounted and connectedto the discharge outlet.
 18. A method for producing dairy milk,comprising: collecting soiled bedding material from cow stalls;dewatering said soiled bedding material using the dewatering screw pressas defined in claim 1; using the dewatered bedding material to replenishbedding material in said cow stalls; and milking the cows.
 19. Themethod as defined in claim 18, wherein the discharged bedding materialis heat treated before use for replenishment, for at least one of thefollowing: killing pathogens and obtaining a desired level of dryness.20. The method as defined in claim 18, wherein the collected soiledbedding material is stored in a storage container, said stored soiledbedding material being pumped from the storage container to the hopper.